


Red Lipstick

by CherriesJubilee (Cherries_Jubilee)



Series: Snake in the Grass [2]
Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Ashe is a spy, Espionage, Found Family, Major Character Death but it’s a bad guy don’t worry, Multi, Not Canon Compliant, Post-Recall
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-19
Updated: 2020-11-26
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:15:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 12
Words: 11,608
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25872715
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cherries_Jubilee/pseuds/CherriesJubilee
Summary: Ashe acts as a double agent, for the sake of family. She never expected to fall this far down the rabbit hole.
Relationships: Elizabeth Caledonia Ashe & Jesse McCree, Reaper | Gabriel Reyes/Soldier: 76 | Jack Morrison
Series: Snake in the Grass [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1877458
Comments: 16
Kudos: 14





	1. Crimson

Overwatch needed new allies. They had no funding, no sponsors, and no tech. It was all lost when the Petras Act was signed, declaring Overwatch activities illegal. Winston was well aware of this fact, and he knew that it would be difficult to gain any ground against Talon with what little they had.

Until McCree accepted his recall. He rolled up to Overwatch headquarters on a cherry red motorcycle with Genji’s brother (didn’t he try to kill Genji? Winston didn’t meddle in Blackwatch affairs for a reason.) and told him that he knew a guy who was willing to spy on Talon. Naturally, Winston was delighted. “Perfect, if you can get me in contact with them, that would be excellent.”

McCree chuckled, and not in a good way. He chuckled like he’d done something that had seemed like a good idea when he thought of it, but now someone was stuck in a vent and he needed Reyes or Morrison to unstick them. That was a chuckle he had seen a lot before McCree headed off on his own. “You see,” he explained, “She’s not really like any of our old allies. My person is more of a... independent contractor.”

Winston raised an eyebrow. “Who is your contact?” He asked, a bit nervous about the answer.

“It’s easier if I show you.” McCree pulled out his smartphone, typed something in, and pulled up a webpage. The American FBI’s Most Wanted page. Winston was appalled.

“Absolutely not. She could be a double agent. Her bounty is even larger than yours!”

McCree splayed his hand over his heart in mock hurt. “It’s only 15 million dollars. Besides, Ashe isn’t the type to double cross people. At least, not the type to double cross me.”

Genji strolled up, absent of his usual faceplate and sipping a Caprisun. “Isn’t that the girl you ditched for Blackwatch that wants to kill you?” He added.

“She doesn’t want to kill me anymore! I know her, and I can tell when she’s lying.”

“Could you tell if she was lying when she said she was going to shove her gun where the sun don’t shine?” Genji teased, mischief in his eyes.

McCree scowled and pocketed the phone. “She wasn’t.” He grumbled. “I think she genuinely reconsidered. Ashe seemed sincere when she called me.”

Winston sighed, removing his glasses and rubbing his eyes. “Tell Ashe I’ll meet her. On our terms. I don’t want to risk her getting anything to hold over our heads.”

He grinned and made finger guns at Winston and left to go make the call, so Ashe and Winston met up via a video call he arranged.

Ashe was an interesting woman, all edges and hostility, but she was the best bet for Overwatch. They didn’t have any sponsors yet, and Ashe offered to provide that plus some extra support through espionage. To Winston, she seemed like a reasonable business woman, not the weapons trafficking crime lord she was. He took the odds, and inducted Ashe into Overwatch.

* * *

They permitted her to visit base, under the pretense she come unarmed. There they would discuss the details of her employment by Overwatch.

The plan was for her to supposedly join Talon’s council as their head of Weaponry, and bring back whatever would help Overwatch thwart Talon. Ashe would also get her hands on whatever old weapons or tech Overwatch needed. She had a bunch of it lying around her warehouse that she never examined, and had already almost wound up with Project Echo in her care, so hopefully that wouldn’t be too hard.

In exchange for her services, she would also become a member of Overwatch, and although she wouldn’t stay on base, she would be able to join missions. Ashe liked the idea, being involved with a group like Overwatch. Except for—

“McCree.” She rounded a corner to discover the bastard himself chatting with another man.

He chuckled nervously when he saw her. “Hey Ashe.” McCree said. “How’s it going?”

Ashe was not impressed. “You’re lucky that we’re on the same side now. Otherwise I might follow through on some of my promises.”

McCree rubbed his neck. The man beside him introduced himself to Ashe. “My name is Hanzo Shimada. I’m also a new recruit to Overwatch.”

“Shimada, huh? I think I had to deal with some of your allies trying to get onto my territory. No hard feelings, I hope.”

“I feel no sympathy towards the Shimada clan. They are villains, and I left a long time ago.”

“So how do you know this moron?” She gestured to McCree.

Hanzo grinned. “We met in Japan awhile back. He can be incredibly charming when he wants to.”

“Yeah.” Ashe grimaced. “That is, until he ditches you after getting his dumbass caught.”

Something clicked in Ashe’s brain. “Wait. I recognize your voice.” She spun on her heel and pointed an accusatory finger in McCree’s face. “He’s the one you were sleeping with when I called!”

Both Hanzo and McCree’s faces went bright red as Ashe cackled from her revelation. McCree ushered her away so they could talk in private.

“I’ve been meaning to ask you what brought about this change of heart. It’s... unlike you.” He asked.

Ashe shrugged. “Found our Overwatch was getting back together and decide I didn’t like what Talon was preaching. Chaos to strengthen humanity? Humanity wouldn’t survive it, plus you know how I feel about chaos.”

“But pledging service to Overwatch? Deadlock is better equipped to take out Talon.”

“It’s not my secret to tell.”

McCree dropped the subject. He never understood Ashe’s mind, anyway. “How have you been?”

“Same as usual, I guess. Just doing my job, trying to keep order. As much as I can, at least. Los Muertos had been acting up again, getting gutsy on my territory.”

“You never liked them much, did you?”

She snickered. “Sugar skulls in neon body paint aren’t really my thing.”

McCree waited a moment, thinking over his next words. “I, um, realize we never talked about the whole... me leaving the gang thing.”

“I was mad when you left, because you kinda let me think you were dead for a long time—”

“Sorry about that.”

“—but I think that Overwatch is your calling and that you belong here.” Ashe held out her hand. “So, truce?”

“Truce.” McCree took her hand and shook it. “I’m also sorry about stealing your train loot.”

“You’re still on thin ice there.”

* * *

Doomfist pushed open the door to the Talon council meeting, gesturing for Ashe to enter. She nodded and took her seat. “This is Miss Elizabeth Ashe.” He introduced. “She is the leader of the formidable Deadlock Gang, and the head of the Four Corners Alliance, uniting several gangs in the Southwest. Most importantly, Miss Ashe had agreed to join us as our head of Weaponry.”

The council clapped politely and she smiled, acting like she was proud of this. Doomfist stood at the head of the table, presenting about their next goal. “Our old foe, Overwatch, has apparently started to resurface. Not the organization, we believe, but many individuals acting under its insignia. If you see an individual wearing or displaying the Overwatch insignia, you can arrest them under the Petras Act. From there, we may interrogate them.”

_“Talon knows Overwatch is back, but they think it’s a bunch of their enemies issuing it intimidate them. Don’t wear anything with the insignia in public, Talon’s on the hunt, using Petras as a reason to arrest.”_

“We have a request from a potential partner from Vishkar who would like one of his opponents within the company out of his way, ideally through her elimination.” Doomfist clicked a button with on a remote, making a picture of a dark-skinned woman with long, black hair and a blue viser on her face. Ashe noted that she a had a prosthetic arm. “Satya Vaswani, a hard light engineer. The assassination is to take place at an expo where she is to give a presentation on her work.”

_“They’re planning to assassinate a Vishkar engineer at an expo, Satya Vaswani, and they have an ally within Vishkar. I don’t have the name yet. Be on the look out for any affiliation among large tech companies with Talon, they’re on the hunt for resources.”_

“You will receive your assignments at a later date. Meeting adjourned.”

Ashe collected her notes and went for the door, but was halted by Doomfist. “I would love to give you a warm welcome into Talon, Miss Ashe. Would you permit me to buy you dinner one night? As colleagues.”

“That would be nice.” She smiled charmingly, as Doomfist held open the door for her. Opportunity was one thing she was excellent at.

After she finished making her report later that evening, she sent it to Winston, deleting all record from the comms, and got on the next flight back home. She was more than ready to help Overwatch win this war, and ready to provide them with ammunition. For now, she hoped this would do.


	2. Mahogany

Overwatch was prepared to intercept the assassination of Satya Vaswani. The team consisted of Hanzo, Angela, and Ashe. Tracer had volunteered herself to come on this mission, but Winston was adamant that she didn’t. Ashe suspected some history there, but that was for a later date.

Ash would be positioned in Satya’s personal guard (disguised, of course), Hanzo would be in the crowd, and Angela would pose as a caterer. Thanks to Ashe’s intel, Overwatch knew exactly who to look out for: Widowmaker. Widowmaker was blue, so ideally she wouldn’t be able to hide amongst the crowd, so she would most likely attack from the outside.

All seemed perfectly in place. Ashe scanned the back wall of the venue, from the stage where Satya was presenting. “All clear on the ground.” Hanzo said through the earpiece.

“Same as in the kitchens.” Angela affirmed.

Ashe replied that she had nothing to report just yet, and continued scanning. While she kept on the lookout, she listened to Satya’s presentation. The Utopia project, that turned slums into middle class district, all the while exploiting the people who lived there. She heard about how one such Utopia had come crashing down in Brazil after the people wised up and fought back. Ashe hated big corporate companies that used people to grow their pocket books. It was the main reason she was so quick to leave home when she was young, because her father’s company did the same thing.

A figure walked through the kitchen doors, head down with long black hair in their face. She looked closer, and noticed how gray their skin looked. Almost blue.

“I’ve got eyes on Widowmaker.” She commed.

Ashe walked over to Satya. “We have to leave, the assassin is here.”

Satya gave Ashe a sour look, but agreed nonetheless. Ashe escorted Satya to her car, but right as she opened the door, a bullet whizzed past her and punctured the car door. “Get down!” She shouted, pulling the handgun from the holster on her thigh and firing rapidly at Widowmaker.

Without her usual Viper, her aim wasn’t as good. It didn’t help that she couldn't wear her arm brace either, to help combat the nerve damage she had attained in her line of work. Nevertheless, Widowmaker was forced to pull back to avoid being hit. She ushered Satya into the armored car and the driver pulled out of Widowmaker’s range. Ashe ran back inside, rejoining her teammates. “She’s up top, I’ll go back out front if she tries to run this way!” She called out.

Hanzo and Angela nodded, heading out to the front and side, in an attempt to corner her. Ashe stood out back where the car had been, gun cocked and poised. An arrow flew off the side of the building, followed by Widowmaker repelling down the side. She slowly raised her gun just above Widowmaker and fired, severing the rope and sending her plummeting down into the bushes. Angela came sprinting around the side, and Hanzo climbed down from the roof, handcuffing the Talon sniper.

* * *

Ashe chuckled as she recounted her mission to McCree. “You shot the rope? How could you even see it?”

“It was in front of the window. I did the math. You coulda made the shot, too, it wasn’t a hard one.”

She caught a glance of her reflection in the mirror. Her disguise hopefully had worked, and Widowmaker didn’t recognize her. Ashe had put a long, black wig over her hair, ditched her usual make up, and worn a black privacy mask. She looked different. Almost... wrong. But her disguise had done its job and that was all that mattered, really. Ashe peeled off the wig.

“Have you ever gone undercover? I’m sure you did in Blackwatch.” She asked.

“Yeah, a bunch. Between me, Gabe, Genji, and Moira, I was the only one who looked normal enough to blend in. One time I got fired from a cover job.”

“I’m not surprised.” Ashe snickered. “Who’s Gabe? He didn’t come back with the recall.”

“Gabriel Reyes. He died in the Swiss base explosion.” McCree explained.

“Oh, right. I remember now.”

“Yeah. He was kinda like the dad of Blackwatch. Even though he was the commander.”

Ashe knew that Gabe’s death probably had a greater impact on McCree than he let on. McCree’s father ditched him whenever he was a kid, leaving him with his mother who later overdosed on some type of drug. It was why the Deadlock gang didn’t condone drug trafficking. If he’d found some sort of parental figure in Blackwatch, then lost it, the damage would be difficult to work through. But McCree was strong, and Ashe knew he probably got help at some point. She didn’t press him.

“How are things going with Hanzo? I didn’t get the chance to talk to him during the mission.”

“Fine, I guess. He’s been kind of jealous of his brother, Genji, though, since me and Genji have known each other for so long. And then he feels super guilty because one time he tried to kill Genji, so then I have to console him that Genji forgives him.”

“...Forget I asked.”

McCree chuckled. “I should be going. Some of the team wants to have game night tonight, I figured you’d like to join.”

“Sure, I’ll stop by. I gotta head back tomorrow, I dunno if the gang can survive with Bob in charge this long.”

He patted her shoulder, and walked out of the room. Ashe looked at her reflection again. She liked the dark makeup and blood red lipstick, she felt bare without it. The specific shade of lipstick was the same one she’d worn since she was nineteen: Thorny Rose. It was cheap and generic, available at almost any drugstore for barely anything, which she liked. It was something she could control, among all the turbulence of her lifestyle.

She wasn’t proud of her profession, but she did love it. Even the rough parts, like the scars and burns on her arms from a fire set by one of her enemies. Her right was so damaged that it was painful to just move it sometimes, so she commissioned her brace. It stabilized her arm and stopped the pain, so she could carry on. Ashe rarely wore it without long sleeves, though, because she didn’t want the scars to be taken for weakness.

She took a deep breath, and grabbed the brace off of the table next to her, then set it back down. Overwatch wasn’t actively seeking her weaknesses, Ashe reminded herself, they were on her side. They weren’t waiting to tear her down, or exploit her secrets to undermine her leadership. They treated her like—

_Like family._

Ashe shut the door behind her, leaving the brace in the dark and her sleeves rolled up. She didn’t feel compelled to worry about her bare face or her lack of lipstick or her scars. She wasn’t even the only one with scars. If anybody did notice, it was a good story to tell, after all.


	3. Wine Red

When Ashe was sixteen, her parents made their plan for her life clear: marry wealthy and her husband would inherit her father’s business. Her job in this would be to smile and look pretty and have a kid. Ashe never liked smiling, looking pretty, or kids. So she left.

Now, at almost forty, a strange sense of nostalgia has washed over her. Not good nostalgia, but the kind that makes you want to vomit at the mere mention and yet you still can’t figure out what it is. She thought it could be the restaurant Doomfist has picked out for the business meeting, where the patrons simply ooze wealth.

Ashe sipped her wine, and glanced at the person across the table from her. Doomfist was imposing, but she wasn’t afraid of him. She was going to destroy him, after all. He could pummel her into a fine dust when she revealed herself to him, but that didn’t matter. She would have won by that point.

He had requested that her next heist be a hospital, to get him the medical equipment her needed to give Talon a boost against the increasing Overwatch attacks. Essentially, he had asked her to indirectly cost people their lives in order to make his a little easier. Ashe despises this man.

“What would you like this evening?” An omnic waiter came up to the table.

“The steak for me, please.” Doomfist said.

“And the lady?”

“The steak as well.” Ashe smiled pleasantly. A lady, indeed.

The omnic nodded and left, and Doomfist turned to face her. “Thank you for joining me tonight, Miss Ashe.”

“It’s nothing.” She dismissed, propping her chin up on her hand. “Glad to be doing business with you.”

He chuckled, and took a swig of his wine. “You are an interesting woman, Miss Ashe. I struggle to understand you.”

_You don’t know the half of it._ “How so?”

“You walked away from quite the inheritance. That must have taken quite a bit of willpower.”

He wasn’t just making conversation. This was a negotiation tactic. Doomfist was trying to figure her out. “It certainly was. I almost miss it sometimes, but I love my work. Couldn’t imagine life without it.” She played into his trap. _He’s going to say, “I imagine it must have been.”_

“I imagine it must have been.” Busted. “I’m prepared to offer you something. I don’t need your response right now, but I would like you to consider this.”

“Hit me.”

“Would you consider having dinner with me again?”

Oh no. Oh no no no no. This isn’t happening. “What do you mean? If there are other things you need to discuss, then now’s the time?” _Please don’t say it, please don’t._

“You see, I would like to go on a date with you. No business, no Talon. Just us.”

She displayed the appropriate levels of shock and flattery, smiling slightly and covering her mouth with one hand. “I don’t know what to say.” Her mind screamed at her to say no, but she knew that could make things worse.

The waiter returned, setting down their plates and leaving quickly. Doomfist continued. “You and I are alike in many ways. Ruthless, brilliant, ambitious. I would like to take our relationship beyond a professional one.”

What do you do when a person who makes your blood boil asks you to go on a date with him? Her very being was repulsed by him, but a small sliver in her rational mind told her that this was perfect. The amount of intel she’d be able to get back to base? It was unimaginable. With just one word, she could get into the inner workings of the mind of Talon’s leader. She could end it all.

“Sure.” She smiled and blushed and gave him what he wanted. “Why not?”


	4. Cherry

New recruits were exciting. The ranks of Overwatch quickly filled out, with the addition of Hana Song, a streamer who was part of the Korean military, Lúcio Corrías de Santos, a freedom fighter from Brazil, and Ana Amari, a founding member of Overwatch who pretended to be dead for several years. Great.

The fourth new recruit wasn’t so new. At least, not to Ashe. He’d been arrested after breaking into an old Overwatch facility, and apparently was material to join. Ashe was suspicious, so she asked Winston if she could have a chat with him. Just to make sure he wasn’t secretly on Talon’s payroll.

She hit the door button and it swooshed aside to reveal an old friend. “Well, well.” Ashe leaned against the door frame. “Never expected time see you around these parts.”

Soldier:76 stood up immediately, and shut the door. “What are you doing here?” He hissed, removing his mask.

“Took your words to heart. Contacted McCree. Now I spy on Talon.” She explained. “And now you’re back. And I’m guessing you haven’t told anyone you’re not dead.”

He sighed. “I’ll do it eventually, I just... need the right time.”

“Okay. I already said I wouldn’t tell you’re secret. You just need to make sure you do it before too many people get hurt by it.” She patted his shoulder and he reattached the mask to his face. Ashe tapped the door button again. “And don’t look so sure of yourself, Morrison. People are gonna figure you out if you don’t get lost at least once in base.”

Jack chuckled. “It always was a maze.”

* * *

The most confusing thing about Soldier:76 was how well he got along with Ashe. Ashe was a snappish, cold woman, and while Soldier could be snappish and cold as well, they just didn’t seem like they’d meld well together. Solider fought for justice and Ashe fought for... unclear. And yet they got along far better than they should have.

Ashe was hanging out in the range, perfecting her already good aim, and Soldier came in as well. They made polite conversation, before Soldier asked her the pressing question. “How are you getting all this intel?” He asked. “It’s so much more than the team could ever have expected of you.”

“I’m an overachiever. It’s what I do.” She didn’t take her eyes off her target.

He loaded up his pulse rifle. “What’s your secret?”

Ashe lowered her weapon. “Don’t laugh.”

Soldier nodded.

“It appears that Doomfist has become... _smitten_ with me.”

He froze and snapped around to meet her eyes. “You’re dating him.”

“He asked me!” She explained defensively, throwing her hands up in exasperation. “I though he was just interested in my weapons, but it turns out he thinks we’re... compatible. It’s too good an opportunity to waste.”

“I know. But what if you get caught? They’re on high alert since Widowmaker was captured.”

“That’s the beauty of it. Since I’m “dating” the leader of Talon, I’m above suspicion. It does help that I have personal history with Overwatch, so it’s easier to avoid being detected. It’s perfectly safe and I know what I’m doing.”

“Okay.” Jack grunted. “I’ve been dealing with Doomfist for a long time, he may seem levelheaded now, but I’ve seen him when he’s angry. I just want you to be safe.”

Ashe mumbled something under her breath and lined up her next shot. When she pulled the trigger this time, something went... wrong. The recoil of the gun tweaked her bad arm in the wrong direction, sending fire through her nerves. She swore and dropped her gun.

Jack’s head snapped in her direction. “What happened?” He asked, concerned about her sudden outburst.

“Nothin’.” She spat.

She reached up to press the release button on her brace and peeled it off. Jack glanced at the scars, failing to make it secret that he was staring. “Never seen a burn before?” Ashe snapped.

He shook his head. “Not one that bad. That’s got a pretty big story behind it.”

“Occupational hazard.” She mumbled, adjusting the brace so it would hold better and reattaching it to her arm.

Jack lowered his gun to his side. “You’re a smart woman, Ashe.” He said. “What are you doing running a gang in Arizona?”

Ashe picked her gun up off of the ground, perching it on her shoulder. “Because it was the best option when I was younger. I ran away from home when I was 17, and since Jesse hadn’t finished highschool yet, I knew we couldn’t go to the city. It just made sense to follow through with the plan.” She spun on her heel and walked towards the exit, waving her hand in a dismissive farewell. “I’ll see ya around.”

“Bye.” Jack called after her. A strange woman, that Ashe. At least she kept her promises.


	5. Carmine

It was Ashe’s decision to proceed with the... arrangement she had with Doomfist. She swore she knew what she was doing and told Winston not to tell anyone else about it. Winston gave her a pitying look and agreed.

It wasn’t the first time she had used men’s attraction to her against them. In the Gorge, she had to what she needed to survive. She had people to protect. And so she swallowed her pride and sucked up to the most disgusting men in the West. Ashe relished killing them.

So far, Doomfist had just taken her out to dinner and thrown around hefty amounts of cash to impress. It wasn’t working. She grew up around money, and it didn’t motivate her to stick around. Money is only fun when it’s yours. But she smiled and feigned affection and went along with it. Among Talon agents, she was respected and feared, since she had suck a close relationship with Doomfist and a ruthless mindset. No one questioned when she locked herself in her car for and hour after a meeting before driving home, because no one wanted to risk offending her or Doomfist.

Talon’s attempts kept failing. Since Widowmaker was in the hands of the enemy and there was a spy within Talon’s ranks, more and more attacks on Overwatch kept failing. Their partnership with Vishkar fell apart, they lost a shipment of important weapons, on and on the list went. More people began deserting, since it was looking rather grim for Talon.

The tech specialist, a woman named Sombra, seemed suspicious of Ashe. Ashe took note of her, and figured that she was also feeding information to somewhere else. Not Overwatch, obviously, but she was probably selling information to make some side money. Ashe could use her as a scapegoat should she come under scrutiny.

Doomfist had summoned her, Reaper, and Moira to discuss an important mission coming up. An assassination of one of Overwatch’s sympathizers. “We no longer have Widowmaker to be our sharp shooter, so I have asked Miss Ashe to fill her place.” Ashe smiled proudly, discreetly glaring at Reaper.

“Are you sure? She’s not as useful from far away like Widowmaker was, perhaps we could look to an outside contractor—”

“You question my judgement, Gabriel?”

Reaper visibly flinched at the mention of the name. Ashe filed it away for future reference, maybe she could even crack this guys real identity. He growled and looked down at the plan Doomfist had laid out for them. Doomfist continued. “I want Reaper on the ground, to create a disturbance driving our target outside, where Miss Ashe will be waiting to strike. Moira will be on standby should anyone be injured.”

“What about you? It’s unlike you to sit anything out.” Moira interjected, leisurely fiddling with the machinery strapped to her scarred arm.

“As much as I dislike not being as actively involved in the missions, I’m certain all will be well with my second-in-command on the job.” To Ashe’s horror, he gestured to _her._ She shot Reaper a cocky grin and rested her chin on her hand, very careful to not let her feelings show through her carefully crafted persona.

_He can’t be serious. This can’t be happened. It was just supposed to be me screwing up missions and providing low quality weapons. I wasn’t supposed to actually move up in Talon. Oh my god, how do I keep this up?_

Doomfist dismissed the meeting, and stopped Ashe before she could leave. “I need to speak with you, about your gang.”

“What about ‘em?” She leaned back in her chair, arms crossed over her chest.

“I believe you should disband the Deadlock Rebels.” He said coolly.

Ashe reigned in her shock and maintained a semi-calm appearance. “What do you mean, disband the gang? I can’t just give up on my life’s work.” She gritted out.

“I say this from the eyes of your lover, not your employer.” His gaze softened, and she wanted to rip out his tongue for using that word to describe them. He gently placed his hand on hers. “You claim that they are your family, but they use you. They use your mind, and your trust, and they betray you for Overwatch. I believe our spy is apart of the group you call your family.”

_Because they are my family. They are my world._

“You don’t need them. We can be our own family, Elizabeth. I want to be your family.”

He was genuine. Doomfist wanted to be her family. He thought he understood her, her motivations. _I will enjoy killing you, you destroy families for the cause of peace and then say I am a part of yours._

“I need to think about it, Akande.” She kept her eyes downcast, and her mouth a straight red line. She didn’t need him knowing how enraged she was by the mere suggestion. Doomfist pressed a kiss to her forehead, making her nerves crawl with disgust. _I will enjoy killing you._

“That’s all I ask, my sweet.”

* * *

She remembered when Ana Amari had joined forces with Overwatch. Winston introduced her to the team, and the original members were shocked that she was alive. And then, there was Reinhardt.

Ashe loved Reinhardt, he was like a grandfather to the team. He was warm, caring, and loud. She always found herself smiling when he walked into the room. The moment he laid eyes on Ana, and barreled across the room and picked her up in a bonecrushing hug, and spun her around, and kissed her.

According to McCree, they’d had a thing before the fall of Overwatch. When Ana faked her death, Reinhardt was crushed, and spent well over a month mourning her. After some time had passed, it seemed like something was missing. Part of his very soul died when Ana did, he loved her so much.

She spoke with Reinhardt about it, before a mission he was going on. “What is it like to be in love with someone like that?” Ashe asked.

“It’s like waking up for the first time in a million years.” He said fondly, checking his shield. “Whenever I was told she died, I said to myself, “Not Ana Amari, that woman was feared by death itself.” And I was right, so I waited for years for her.”

“You—you waited for her? Even though you thought she was dead?” Ashe gaped at him.

He chuckled and patted her on the back. “I told you, death feared her. I always knew my Ana would return to me.”

Reinhardt's words changed Ashe’s entire way of thinking. To wait, for years, for a person who according to the rest of the world was dead? It was no question that the love between Reinhardt and Ana ran deep. She decided she wanted something just like that someday.

* * *

When she asked Hanzo why he was dating McCree, he shrugged. “I ask myself the same question every day.”

She snickered and took a swig of her whiskey. “You and McCree have the same choice of drink.” Hanzo noted.

“Yeah, it’s all that was good in the Gorge. Old habits die hard.”

Hanzo sipped his sake. “You know all these little things about McCree that he never told me. I’m jealous.”

“Don’t be. Half of the stories I know about him end with him needing a medical attention and me needing a drink.” Ashe joked.

“Can you tell me about the scar on his right hand? Between his thumb and index finger. I’ve always noticed it, but I don’t want to bring it up. I know that he has some painful memories from the past and I don’t want to accidentally scare him off.” He hunched over his drink, staring down at the liquid wistfully.

Ashe had seen McCree have lots of different dates, but not a single one ever treated his scars and stories with such respect. He had someone who went out of their way to ensure that he wasn’t unhappy, and that made Ashe’s heart sing. McCree had found someone to look out for him.

“Don’t tell McCree that I’m the one that told you.” She warned. Hanzo turned to give her his full attention while she took a quick sip of her booze. “Whenever we were, I guess, 16 and 18, we found a vending machine at a gas station. McCree looked me right in the eye and said, “I bet you 3 dollars I can get that bag of chips without paying for it.” I said go for it, and he reached up under the flap that you get the stuff from and started trying to work the bag out of there. About half way through, he somehow manages to skewer his hand on the little spiral thingy and I had to go get the gas station attendant to unlock the front of the machine so he could unstick his hand.”

Hanzo startled at her, and slowly took a large drink of his sake. “That really sounds like him.” He admitted.

Ashe cackled, and signaled the bartender for a refill. “I couldn’t even take the money I was laughing so hard. It would just add insult to injury.”

They shared stories for the rest of the night, and Ashe was glad that the dumbass kid she knew growing up had someone else to look out for him in life. She hoped that they made it, since McCree deserved someone like Hanzo.

* * *

In total, Ashe had had 23 relationships. 21 of them hadn’t been relationships that she reciprocated feelings in, and was using her partner to advance her own plans. She wasn’t meant for meaningful relationships, and instead weaponized attraction. In most of these, she was fairly certain they were driven by lust, instead of love. Or maybe that was a fact she told herself at night to help her sleep. Didn’t matter now.

Ashe was an expert of manipulating other people, into believing she was naive, in love, or oblivious. The only person she couldn’t lie to was McCree, simply because he knew her methods. At first, Doomfist was just another target for her to destroy. But now, now it was far more personal. His very existence insulted her every ideal, and he had no empathy for those who he didn’t have personal ties to. Civilian deaths were “the price of peace,” but there was nothing peaceful about bombing residential areas to get to that one politician who spoke out against you.

And now, now he wanted her to be a part of his “family?” No, Ashe would never be a part of his sick, twisted idea of family. At least, Calamity Ashe wouldn’t. Talon Ashe, “Miss Elizabeth,” would have to stand for it, because that was what she was supposed to do. She reminded herself that this wasn’t her, not really, it was just her faking it so she could get intel. And she reminded herself, every little bit got her closer to day when she could pull the trigger on him.

She was disgusted with what she was doing to get it, but she collected intel on him regardless. And her reports were keeping Overwatch one step ahead. So, she agreed.

Ashe assured herself it was for the best, since now her real family would be safe from retaliation if she was discovered. She disbanded her gang. She threw away her life, for the promise of removing one sleazebag from the universe. No, it was a whole organization of sleazebags threatening the world that she was a part of. It was her duty to do this, even if it betrayed everything she stood for. She told everyone that they would reform whenever Talon fell, and she hoped it would be enough.

With a big smile plastered on her face and took Doomfist’s arm, like an accessory at the gala. She was wearing a dress, something she would never do in the right state of mind. An ankle length evening gown in black, her hair styled up behind her head. An arm piece to a powerful man who was threatening to destroy the world. And she was smiling.

Ashe broke down earlier that day and told the team how she was getting so much intel. McCree and Soldier were adamant about getting her out as soon as possible, since they knew it only fueled the fire if she got caught, but she wouldn’t relent. This was necessary, she reminded herself.

Doomfist was attending a gala and had invited Ashe along. In the name of the mission, she accepted. She had been dragged back into the center of a society she swore to get as far away from as possible. And not a single person was here to talk business.

“What do you think of the gala, my sweet?” Doomfist asked her while she delicately sipped down a champagne flute.

“It’s absolutely splendid, Akande. I’ve missed this.” _Liar, liar._

He beamed and drank from his glass again. An idea flashed through her mind. _I could poison his cup right now. Throw Talon into chaos and escape.  
_

No, she couldn’t, because Doomfist had friends in powerful places who would be more than happy to remove her once she had no more connection to someone as powerful as Doomfist. Like a hydra, deal with one problem, and you get two more.

The end was closing in, soon, and she’d finally take revenge. Soon. Ashe just had to tolerate this a little bit longer.


	6. Scarlett

Ashe pondered Reaper’s reaction to his name. He’d probably done something shameful and was now trying to forget about it. The name Gabriel wasn’t uncommon, but that wasn’t going to stop her.

First, she needed to understand Reaper’s motive. He joined up with Talon after the fall of Overwatch, about the same time as The Witch (Moira). His primary goals involved trying to murder Overwatch agents, but that also could just be Talon in general.

The trail went dry there. Reaper genuinely just seemed to be a Talon assassin. Until a new lead sprung up, in the form of a Talon council meeting.

Doomfist was speaking about a mission they could expect Overwatch interference on (Ashe could guarantee it) and casually mentioned the name “McCree” to her. “I’m certain you would like to, as you put it, “Put a bullet between McCree’s eyes?” He joked.

She grinned and reclined in her chair. “Bastard won’t even know what hit him.”

It didn’t escape her attention that Reaper went suddenly quiet and still. He _knew_ McCree. It was likely that Reaper had once been on good terms with him. She had him trapped.

Only in passing glance of the hall of heroes did she remember a key detail.

_“Who’s Gabe? He didn’t come back with the recall.”_

_“Gabriel Reyes. He died in the Swiss base explosion.” McCree explained._

_“Oh, right. I remember now.”_

_“Yeah. He was kinda like the dad of Blackwatch. Even though he was the commander.”_

She leaned her back against the wall opposite the small room, stuffing her hands into her pockets and exhaled deeply. This would destroy McCree. He believed a man he considered to be a father dead, only to find out he was alive and actively trying to kill him? It’d shatter his little heart. Ashe had to keep this a secret.

She stormed into Winston’s office, and slid open the door. He looked up at her. “What’s going on?”

“Reaper is Reyes.” Ashe sat down in one of the swivel chairs across from Winston. “Doomfist used the name “Gabriel” during a meeting. He went pretty much unresponsive when McCree was mentioned. He joined up with Talon at the exact same time as Moira.”

Winston halted work, and turned to face her, concern etched into his face. “You’re certain?”

She nodded, and put her head in her hands. “Don’t you tell anyone. If a word of this gets out, it’ll crush any of the original members.”

He sighed and nodded. Ashe picked herself up from the chair and left without another word. An idea occurred to her as she exited: Jack’s reason.

* * *

Morrison was sparring with a punching bag when she came in, and the moment he heard the door open, he fumbled for his mask. “Relax, old man, it’s just me.” Ashe called out.

His shoulder dropped in relief. “What’s up?”

“Reyes.” She said plainly, crossing her arms across her chest. “D’ya know him?”

Morrison froze, cautiously surveying the situation. “Why?”

“You were commanders at the same time. Both of you were dead in the Swiss Base explosion. According to the records, Reyes had some kind of genetic work done that made him a better for black ops work, even if it’s not specific.” Ashe listed. “Do you know him?”

He refused to meet her eyes. “Yeah.”

“How?”

Jack wrung his hands together, and looked towards her. “I... we... we dated. For a few years, actually.”

“And then he died and you went off to be a vigilante and avenge him.” She finished.

He looked stunned. “How did...?”

Ashe shrugged. “I figured your motivations to challenge the notorious Deadlock gang had to be pretty big. Love, most likely. I’ve known you had someone who died since we first met.”

“But how? We talked _once.”_

“I’m good at what I do. Perk of the job. And you just confirmed who.”

He sputtered for word for a moment before continuing. “What’s brought this talk of Gabriel on all of the sudden?”

“He’s not dead.”

Jack stared at her, stunned. He lowered himself to the ground and resting his forehead in his hands. “He’s... he’s not dead. How-how can he... oh my god...”

Ashe placed her hand on his shoulder in an attempt to be comforting. “I’m afraid that isn’t all.” She grimaced, crouching down beside Jack.

He shook his head gently. She took a deep breath. “Reyes is Reaper.”

Jack’s head whipped around to meet her eyes. “No, no, you’re lying. You’ve—you’ve mixed it up. Reyes _can’t_ be Reaper, it just isn’t like him—”

“I think I can turn him to our cause. But I’ll need your help. He thinks you’re dead, too. You need to tell him at some point.” She explained calmly. Jack shook his head and insisted she was wrong, but his tone suggested he knew she was right.

After a moment, Jack collected himself and agreed. “I’ll help you turn him back to his family. He... this isn’t him.”

She nodded and stood up, shoving her unbraced hand into her pocket. “I just have to do some scouting, and then we’ll talk to him. It’ll work.” Ashe promised, turning to leave.

“Wait.”

Ashe turned her head to face him. “I want to tell the rest of the base my identity, first.”

“I can give you a week before I start meddling. This needs to get done.” She continued walking, and the door slid shut behind her with a hiss.

How would the rest of the base react when they found out both Morrison and Reyes were alive? Ashe sighed and walked down the hall determinedly. Talon had taken so much from the rest of the team. They had taken her gang, her family. They weren’t going to take anything else. Now, she would be the one taking everything from them.

And when she was done, she take out Doomfist herself.


	7. Sangria

Ashe was homesick. She missed the gorge, and all the shit that went down there. She missed her family, her gang, and she missed her job. Of all the things she would be doing with her life at this point, she did not expect to be and Overwatch spy within Talon’s ranks.

On Saturday, she made the decision to drink away her homesickness in the lounge. No one dared to take the bottle away from her. Until McCree came bursting in to tell her that Widowmaker was ready to talk.

Widowmaker had been brought into custody about a month ago, but her lips were sealed. She never spoke a word to the Overwatch agents. Until now, apparently. Ashe stood on the other side of the one-way glass while McCree interrogated her. She noticed right off the bat that Widowmaker was significantly healthier looking than when Ashe had brought her in. Her skin was warmer, and her eyes seemed full of life. Something Talom Widowmaker didn’t have.

She listened to Widowmaker’s testimony. “I was brought into Talon after I killed my husband.” She retold plainly. “I don’t remember killing him. It’s blank there. Dr. O’Deorain had me on some kind of suppressants. It slowly my heart rate and blocked my ability to feel emotions. Without them, I am less under Talon’s control. I feel like I was before my kidnapping.”

Widowmaker was out and Amélie was back. Not the result that she had expected, but certainly a welcome one. McCree continued to asked her questions. “Are you familiar with the rumors of the spy within Talon?”

“Is it Sombra? I thought it was Sombra. It wasn’t like I was going to tell, though.”

“It’s not Sombra.” He grinned. “You have no intention of returning to Talon?”

“Absolutely none.” She insisted.

McCree gestured for Ashe to enter. The moment she swung the door open, Widowmaker broke out into a large smile. “I should have known. You didn’t raise a single suspicion.”

“That means I’m doing my job well.” Ashe joked, and she slid the chair out next to McCree. “Would you like to join Overwatch? We could always use more help around base and on missions. Plus, then me and Hanzo would be the only snipers, meaning I could spend more time gathering intel.”

Widowmaker smiled wistfully and nodded. “For Gérard.”


	8. Rose

Ashe cornered Reaper after a council meeting one day. She said she had something important she needed to ask him. Reaper begrudgingly accepted, and met her in an empty conference room.

"What do you want?" He grumbled, seating himself in a swivel chair.

She sat down across from him, smiling to herself. "I just wanna ask you some questions, if that's alright, Gabriel."

Reaper stiffened. "Picked up my name from Akande? Not very original of you." He was attempting to seem like he hadn't been rattled by the use of his name.

"He gave me the first clue. It wasn't hard to track down the rest." Ashe placed a manila folder on the table. "Gabriel Reyes, former head of Blackwatch. A dead man."

He lunged at her from across the table with a snarl, Ashe simply sidestepping to avoid him. "Careful, now, you wouldn't want to get on Akande's bad side, now would you?"

"How did you figure it out? You--You _traitor._ " Reaper shouted.

She passed him the folder that detailed his former life. "It wasn't hard. I only needed a little bit of help to confirm your motives."

"And what might those motives be?"

Ashe grinned. "You're ashamed and hurt. Self-inflicted, since you're the one who picked the fight with Jack Morrison that brought about his untimely demise." She explained plainly, sitting down in another chain, placing one leg on top of the other.

He froze for a moment. "You... you're the spy." Reaper chuckled to himself. "You knew exactly what you were doing when you got into business with Talon."

"Congrats. You've caught me. I have contact with Overwatch. And I suppose you want to turn me in and get all the glory for yourself." Ashe stalked towards him threateningly, despite being much smaller than Reaper. "But then, you'd never know what Jack thinks of you."

Reaper stepped back. "He's dead."

"He's no more dead than you are. In my opinion, he's more alive than you."

"I caused the explosion, he died--"

"So did you."

Ashe pulled a folded sticky note from his pocket. "He wants to see you. Misses you." She held the note out to him. "I've got you coordinates and a time. And hey, you can go ahead and turn me in, but you and I both know that's not what you really want."

She dropped the sticky note, and strode out of the conference room, slamming the door behind her.

* * *

Jack Morrison was alive. It was a great shock to the new Overwatch, particularly to one Jesse McCree. Moreover, his best-friend-turned-not-best-friend-turned-back-to-being-his-best-friend was in on it.

"How on Earth did you figure it out?"

"I didn't, I caught him slinking around in my warehouse, trying to steal some old tech. He convinced me that toleratin' you was worth it to take down Talon. He revealed his identity to me then."

He chuckled weakly and ran a hand through his hair. "He asked you not to tell, and you didn't."

"It wasn't my secret to tell." Ashe defended.

"No, no, I get it." McCree sat down on the bench next to her. "Is it... is it possible that Reyes also survived? I mean, everyone thought the blast was unsurvivable. So... I dunno, it just seems odd."

Ashe's lips pressed into a thin red line. McCree swore that she still had the exact same color lipstick she did when they were kids. "Gabriel Reyes is Reaper." She said finally.

He sat back and exhaled deeply. "You're sure?"

"Yeah. I confronted him about it yesterday."

"That was incredibly stupid and dangerous!" He shouted. "What if you were wrong, and just got yourself caught? Or if he figures out that you're the spy and turns you in anyways to protect himself? You can't do things like that, Ashe."

"Don't tell me what I can and can't do." Ashe snapped, jabbing a finger at his face. "I can handle myself. I knew what I was doing. Reyes won't turn me in because he still supports Overwatch. He just joined Talon out of fear of being on the losing side. Now that Talon is losing, and he knows Morrison is alive, then he isn't still hurt by the fact that he thinks he killed him. Reyes will want to rejoin Overwatch." She stood up, glaring sharply at McCree.

"I'm sorry, but I don't want you to risk your life like that. I think you need to get out of there. This whole thing with Doomfist has you in way too deep. If you get caught before he's dead, then he will kill you."

"I'm aware!" She snarled. "I signed up for this. And I'm more than ready to die."

Ashe stormed away to go find Jack. They had a meeting to attend anyway.


	9. Wine

Ashe and Morrison waited in the abandoned building where they planned to meet Reyes. Ashe was leaned up against a doorframe arms crossed as she scanned the area for signs of ambush. Morrison sat on a piece of rubble, tapping his foot while his rifle rested next to him. There was still about 15 minutes until the time written on the sticky note.

Exactly at 4 pm, a whooshing sounded in the stairwell that turned to heavy footsteps. Reyes. He stormed in, and halted the moment his eyes landed on Jack. Jack had forgone the mask today, revealing his identity. He stood up quickly, and approached Reyes. "Gabriel." He whispered, peering into the skull mask. "Is that really you?"

"Yes." He grumbled.

Reyes reached up to remove the mask, revealing the scarred, sickly gray face of the man in the picture.

“You’re alive.”

“Alive is a stretch.”

Jack smiled a bit, and carefully reached out for his hand. “I’ve missed you.”

Reyes stared at Jack’s gloved hand, before pulling his hand away away. “I’m not the man you remember.”

“Of course you are. You’ll always be Reyes to me.”

Reyes chuckled. “Such a romantic.”

“As touching as this is,” Ashe interrupted, startling both men, “there’s still business to be conducted. You two can be as gushy as you want when we’re done here.”

Jack sighed, and turned his focus towards Ashe. “What’s next?”

“I think Reyes should come back to Overwatch.”

“Absolutely not,” Gabe protested.

“And why not?”

He was a bit startled by her needling. “I—” It occurred to him he didn’t really have a reason.

“I get you’re mad at Overwatch for kinda of screwing your over, but this is the new Overwatch. We’re here for one purpose only: stopping Talon. Besides, if you come back, you and Morrison can be all lovey-dovey all the time.”

Jack smiled and glanced at Gabe. He sighed. “She makes a compelling case.”

* * *

They rode back in Ashe’s pick up. “Here’s the plan,” she said. “Me an’ Reyes are gonna keep on working with Talon. I’m thinkin’ we can turn Sombra, and destabilize Doomfist’s inner circle, leaving him without most of his allies. Then, we just wait out an opportunity.”

“What about Moira?” Reyes asked.

“She won’t join. She’s in it for herself, and we don’t have what she wants.”

Jack and Gabe sat in the back seat, while Ashe drove. The elephant in the room weighed on Gabe’s chest. “I’m sorry.” He blurted, suddenly. “For joining Talon. I went against everything we ever stood for.”

“It’s— I forgive you.” Jack placed his hand on top of Gabe’s. Ashe’s lips turned up slightly as she watched silently in the rear view mirror. “I’m just glad you’re on our side.”

Her mood quickly grew dark again as she remembered that everyone else would remember Gabe. She suspected that everyone else on base would not be as accommodating. How would Winston, Tracer, McCree, and all the other original members react?

She didn’t have a plan for other people’s emotions. She only had hope that this would work. Pulling off the highway, they were nearing the base.

When Ashe parked the car in the forest behind base where everyone parked, she noticed how nervous Gabe appeared. With a deep breath, she gave him her most reassuring smile and waved him over.

“How... how do you think McCree will react?” He asked her.

“I have no clue.”

For once in her life, Ashe was stumped. This was a completely new situation. She had no way of manipulating the best outcome. This interaction had been left completely up to chance.

They stepped into the facility, where McCree was waiting by the entrance. He froze the moment he laid eyes on Gabe. “Hey, Vaquero.”

McCree found his voice after a moment. “You—you don’t get to come in here and just expect things to go back to the way they were.” He said.

Gabe nodded. “I know. I messed up. Big time.”

“This isn’t like when we were in Blackwatch. You tried to _kill_ me. In—in what? In the name of a better paycheck?” McCree shouted.

“Kid—”

“Don’t call me that.” He turned and stormed down the hall, turning the corner and heading out of sight.”

Gabe sighed. “I don’t think I can come back, Ashe.”

“He’ll come around.” She promised. “He still cares about you. Just let him be mad for a while. You owe him at least that much.”

He nodded, and stood up a bit straighter. “One down, about a hundred more to go.”


	10. Ruby

She and Gabe were slowly working Doomfist out of his position. He was losing his place in Talon, and soon, they could take him down, and then Talon would fall.

Half the council was there on threat of death, without Doomfist, they’d leave. Talon would be exposed. And anyone would oppose its fall would be dealt with accordingly. Ashe had played her part perfectly.

She played the loving partner to Doomfist, the sympathetic colleague to Moira, and the bitter rival to Reaper. If they got Sombra, too, then it would be practically over. That’s what Ashe intended to do.

Sombra liked power, not money. She was with Talon because she didn’t care, and they could get her higher. If she suspected there was a problem, she’d ditch them. Ashe was hoping that by revealing herself, Sombra would take the odds of joining Overwatch. But it was also risky, since Sombra was what Ashe deemed a “Wild Card.” She could go either way, because she had no connections.

Ashe approached Sombra in her lair, bright screens illuminating the otherwise pitch black room. Sombra sat in the center of the intricate computer, tapping away at three separate keyboards. “Hey.” She called out, startling Sombra, who whirled around in her swivel chair.

“Oh, it’s you.” Sombra said flatly, before turning back to her work.

Ashe walked up beside her, watching the monitor. “I don’t suppose you have any intel on the mole.” A challenge. Sombra was the best, and she wanted everyone to know it.

“There’s no mole. I would have found out by now. Duh.”

“How sure are you?” Ashe leaned against the desk, placing the Overwatch medallion on the desk.

Sombra’s eyes widened in shock. “You—?”

She grinned, winked, and put a finger to her lips.

“Ohohoho. You’re good.” Sombra leaned back in her chair. “You had me fooled.”

“I’m not the only one. There are others. Talon already lost, they just haven’t been told yet.”

Sombra regarded her for a moment tapping her nails on her chin. “Okay. I’m in.”

Ashe held out her hand, and Sombra took it. “Welcome to the winning side.”

* * *

Sombra gave them an opportunity. Over comms, she told Doomfist and Moira that a hallway of a suspected Overwatch facility they were raiding was clear. They split off, Gabe and Moira, and Ashe and Doomfist. Ashe felt a swell of pride that she would be the one to end this.

Doomfist and her crept through the hall, until she heard the signal: two short whistles. A smoke bomb was rolled into the hall, and she and Doomfist booked it down the hallway to escape its blast. At the end, there was a room, and Doomfist ran in. It was time.

Ashe walked in, and shut the door behind her. Someone on the other side blocked it, trapping them in. “It was an ambush.” He spat, pacing the room.

“Oh, this was more than an ambush.”

He glanced up at her in surprise. “This is the end of the line.”

“You’re the spy.” Doomfist whispered.

Ashe grinned and clapped slowly. “Took ya long enough.”

“But— you said you loved me.” He cried out.”

“I lied.”

“We’re a family.”

She burst out laughing, shrill and cold. “Why would I ever call a monster my family?”

Ashe could see the heartbreak and betrayal in his eyes, and relished it. She raised her weapon. “I hate you with all my soul.”

The heart break turned to anger, and he lunged at her with a roar. She rolled out of the way just in time, and fired a shot into his shoulder. Doomfist was in phased by the bullet, to her dismay.

He lunged again, pinning her against the wall by her throat. “You traitor.” Doomfist snarled.

“You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

He flung her across the room, and unknowingly gave her the upper hand. Ashe whipped a pistol out of the holster on her hip and fired three shots, straight into his chest, and he dropped to the ground. She stood up, panting, and walked past his body. She needed to find Gabe.

In a flash, his hand shot out and grabbed her ankle. Doomfist wasn’t done yet. He yanked her leg, and she fell to the ground. Doomfist towered over her, and she knew that her betrayal had hurt him so deeply that he was bleeding out from four bullet wounds and still standing. She always forgot to consider the depth of human emotion.

He roared, and slammed the ground, forcing her to roll out of the way again, pointlessly firing more shots into his gauntlet. Doomfist ripped the weapon from her hand, and forced her to the ground. “You should have just taken my offer the first time. I can double whatever they pay you.”

“I don’t need your filthy money. I betrayed you for free.” She sneered.

“Then I will make you pay your debts.” He growled, dangerously soft.

* * *

McCree had heard the fight, the sound of things pounding against the wall, but he couldn’t get in. Ashe had locked the door from her side, in addition to the barricade on his. By the time he broke down the door, both her and Doomfist were gone. There was a gaping hole in the wall, where he had escaped. Ashe (or her body) was no where to be found. He had taken her with him. McCree ran back to the team.

They had successfully captured Moira, but all sense of victory was lost whenever he told them what had happened.

“I—I knew this would happen.” Jack yelled. “I never should have encouraged her, that night in the warehouse. This is all my fault.”

“She knew what she was getting into.” Gabe interjected.

“Well we could have stopped her!”

“Stop it!” McCree interjected, silencing the room. “Ashe knows what’s she’s doing, and she knew what she was getting into. More importantly, she helped us take down Moira and got Doomfist outta Talon. He’s got no more allies, and the council has already vanished. The most important problem has been dealt with.”

Jack yanked his visor off of his face and tossed it aside. “That’s all fine and dandy, but one of our own is missing. What the hell are we supposed to do, with our finest and the one with the most intel in the hands of our enemy?”

“We get her back.” McCree declared.

“There aren’t many places Doomfist could take her. He doesn’t have as many allies as he thinks, and he can’t hide behind Talon anymore.” Gabe suggested as he tucked his shotguns back into their holsters.

“There we go.” McCree put his revolver away. “We just search everywhere. Until we find her.”


	11. Blood

Ashe opened her eyes, met with cold, corrugated metal of a warehouse. Her wrists were handcuffed over her head, to a railing. From what she could tell, the place had been abandoned for a while. She grimaced and pushed herself up into a seated position with her legs.

Doomfist stalked in, and slammed his fist against the wall, leaving a sizable dent in the metal. “You...” he panted, “You traitor.”

She remained silent, staring dead ahead, a faint smile on her lips. Ashe hummed, discreetly fishing the pin out from her sleeve cuff. In his anger, Doomfist neglected to properly search her. He continued pacing about the warehouse grunting and shouting periodically.

After a moment, and after she had worked one of the cuffs free, he turned to her. She grasped the cuff in place. “I loved you, Elizabeth.”

“Nobody calls me Elizabeth, least of all, you.” She corrected. “And I never loved you, not one bit. Talon is gone. You have no support.”

“No, but I still have you.” He rushed towards her, kneeling and caressing her cheek. “Please, Elizabeth, you must have felt something. What we had was so real.”

“I did my part well, then.” Ashe spat in his face.

He growled and stood up, walking away from her. Even though she was free, she was unarmed. She needed an escape plan.

Doomfist was angry. He wouldn’t let her go without a fight, but she wasn’t in any state to fight. She would have to incapacitate him in someway, or wait for reinforcements. Right now, it would just be the waiting game.

* * *

Jack huffed as yet another of Doomfist’s hiding spots proved to be empty. His rifle hung from his hand at his side and he sent a message to the rest of the group that this one could be crossed off the list. A moment after he hit the send, the screen lit up with an incoming call from Reyes.

“Any luck?” He asked.

“No.” There was a faint shuffling in the background, and he heard McCree’s drawl shout something indistinctive. “This one’s clean. We only have a few more locations to search, then we’ll have to move to broaden search.”

* * *

They were down to the last three. McCree was losing hope that they would find her in one of Doomfist’s old spots. It was a warehouse, owned by Talon, but no one had been using it for years. It housed weapons, supposedly.

He kicked in the door, revolver raised, and crept through the warehouse, Reyes behind him. There was a crash above him, and he glanced up, seeing Doomfist land with a solid _bang_ against a metal platform. McCree didn’t hesitate, firing a shot into his chest. He missed and hit the gauntlet instead, and with a yell, Doomfist lunged at them.

McCree froze as the fist flew towards him, thinking that it was over, but a another _bang_ of a shotgun sent him flying off to the right. The shot hadn’t been from Reyes, who hadn’t even had to draw his weapon, but from Ashe, who was standing proudly, swinging an empty pair of handcuffs on her finger. “You’re late.” She looked a bit beat up, with dark circles under her eyes and a small dribble of blood from the corner of her smile, but ready to fight.

“Had trouble finding the place.” He grinned and took aim, and Ashe holstered her shotgun, instead arming her rifle. Reyes did the same, and Doomfist rose up from the floor.

“Even you, Reyes?” He muttered.

Reyes chuckled darkly. “I was never really on your side.”

Ashe pulled the trigger, sending the bullet straight between his eyes. “Now we're done here.” She stalked out of the warehouse, not giving the corpse a second glance.


	12. Snow

Overwatch disbanded for the second time. The crises with Talon had dissipated, and so there was no need for an opposition. Everyone was to go back to being civilian.

Jack and Gabe had never been civilians, and were also supposedly dead. They were going to lay low back in California together. Winston was able to get them fake I.D.s so they wouldn’t be found out.

McCree and Hanzo moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico. McCree had been so excited for Hanzo to finally see where he was from, especially now that he was in good terms with Ashe and no longer at risk of her wrath.

Ashe decided she was going to rebuild the Deadlock Rebels. She was done playing hero, and wanted to go back to doing what she liked. Standing at the edge of the property line of the House, warm wind blowing in her face. Ashe smiled and sighed. Home.

She sent out the message that it was safe to come back. Some people did, some people didn’t. It stung a little that some people took the opportunity to cut her out when she had considered them family, but she had other work to do.

A few months went by, and a knock sounded on McCree and Hanzo’s door. McCree opened it, and beamed as Ashe stepped in. “You’re just in time.”

“I’m not the one who’s late to everything.” She teased.

He noted something was off. “You’re lipstick, it’s a different color. I could’ve sworn you’ve been using the same one for years.”

Ashe shrugged. “They discontinued my old one.” She explained, following McCree into the kitchen and hopping up to sit on the counter. “I had to pick a new color.”

“Oh, I know how you hate that.”

Ashe nodded. It would have bothered her a lot, but since Overwatch, she had done a bit of growing up. While she would have liked to have that constant from her entire life, her life had changed so much. Some things she did before, she didn’t do anymore. She stopped supplying military grade weapons, rebranding the Deadlock Rebels to a more vigilante-esque group. It was only fitting she change her stupid lipstick.

“I’m over it.” She reached over and grabbed one of the olives McCree had been slicing, popping it in her mouth.

He scoffed and smacked her hands away as she cackled. Hanzo walked in to the scene. “It’s good to see you, Ashe.” He greeted.

“Hey, Shimada. You takin’ care of my Jesse?”

“I wouldn’t dream of anything less.”

Ashe grinned, and stole another olive. “I need those.” McCree complained.

* * *

Ashe was laying on the roof of the House. The House she fixed up for her and her family, so they could stop sleeping on mats in an old warehouse. It was important to her.

She stared at the expanse of stars against and ink black sky. Sighing contentedly, Ashe closed her eyes, taking in the sounds of the desert. Everything was different. In a good way. This was the life she had been longing for when she ran away from home all those years ago.

Ashe reached into her pocket, and pulled out her Overwatch medallion. She traced it with the tip of her finger, warmth filling her heart. This was everything she ever wanted.

Her family had grown.


End file.
